After listening for a while, Tang Mo finally understood the root of the problem.
The problem was simply that he was Professor Tian.
The reason Tang Mo wanted to protect Professor Tian and help him safely get through the Great Famine was because, in her previous life, Professor Tian had used his own rations to keep her alive.
And now, thanks to Tang Mo, Professor Tian had more food, but he didn't choose to improve his own life. Instead, he chose to help more people.
In Professor Tian's heart, his beloved students, including Tang Mo, were all children whose lives had just begun. The meaning their futures held was far greater than that of an old man like himself.
So, in the early days of the famine, he gave almost all of his food to his students. He continued to supplement their rations later on, which meant he never had enough for himself.
Tian Zhen and Tian Shishi's hearts ached for their father, but their own shares weren't large.
Out of desperation, Tian Shishi had considered giving herself to Tang Lianjie in exchange for more food for her father.
'If Professor Tian knew his kindness had nearly led the daughter he'd cherished for twenty years to such a fate, would he ever be able to forgive himself?'
Tang Mo lowered her head, silently listening to Tian Zhen and Tian Shishi's mix of love and complaint for their father.
She couldn't say a thing. 'Should I accuse Professor Tian of being overly saintly and burdening his family?'
She had no right. If not for Professor Tian's kindness in her previous life, she would never have made it out of the school alive.
Tang Mo actually understood Professor Tian's feelings. It wasn't just because the people he helped were his students. A larger part of it was a sense of self-reproach.
Professor Tian felt that if he hadn't wanted the students to stay at school for their experiments, they wouldn't be trapped here now, separated from their families.
Therefore, he had to be responsible for them. Only then could he face each of their parents.
"How about this, Teacher Tian, you two head back first. I'll come find you at your office tomorrow."
Tang Mo took off her backpack, put her hand inside, and surreptitiously pulled two bottles of mineral water and two packs of instant noodles from her Space.
"Take these. Give them to the professor to eat first. He's getting old. If he goes hungry for too long, his health will suffer."
Tang Mo stuffed everything into Tian Zhen's hands.
"This is..." Tian Zhen looked down.
"No, this is too precious. It's really too precious. I can't take this!"
Once he saw what it was, Tian Zhen hurriedly tried to push the items back. Tian Shishi also looked on in agreement, not wanting to accept Tang Mo's things.
She had taken things from Tang Lianwei, but she considered that a trade. Tang Mo, on the other hand, was a girl at the school with no one to rely on. These things were her lifeline.
It had to be said, Professor Tian had raised the siblings, Tian Zhen and Tian Shishi, very well.
"You have to take them. If you really don't want them, just throw them away. I don't want them back. See you tomorrow, Teacher Tian."
After dropping that line, Tang Mo turned and ran, leaving the dumbfounded siblings staring at each other, still unable to process what had just happened.
...
The next day, Tang Mo went to the student affairs office to find Tian Zhen, who was still holding fast to his post.
It was the middle of a famine. Trapped here with no clear future, most of the faculty and staff had already abandoned their positions.
Only a few professors who saw science as their Life remained, still fighting on in their labs, continuing their unfinished experiments as if nothing had happened.
And then there were guidance counselors like Tian Zhen, who stayed at the school every day, providing psychological support to students on the verge of collapse.
Tian Zhen was alone in the huge office. Tang Mo knocked and entered without much ceremony, getting straight to the point after she sat down.
"These are some things I had stored up. If I give them to the professor, he'll definitely just share them with the students in his lab. I'll leave them with you. You can bring him a little each day and watch him finish it."
Tang Mo took a black plastic bag out of her backpack and placed it on Tian Zhen's desk.
Inside, she had packed six bottles of mineral water, a five-pack of instant noodles, and some compressed biscuits.
Notably, there was also a bag of soy milk powder for the elderly. Although there was no way to mix it with water now, it could be eaten dry to supplement the professor's nutrition.
She had calculated it all out. If he was frugal, combined with the food the professor managed to save for himself, it would be no problem to last for two weeks.
In the current situation, mineral water wasn't drunk by the bottle, but sipped by the mouthful. The amount she'd provided was truly significant.
"From now on, I'll bring you more supplies every two weeks. You don't need to be sparing with these," Tang Mo instructed.
There were only a little over three months left until they could leave the school. She wasn't short on this amount of supplies.
It wasn't that she was being stingy by not giving more. First, she couldn't explain where so many supplies came from. Second, human nature isn't inherently good. While she was determined to help Professor Tian's family, she didn't want them to become dependent.
'As for the students in the professor's lab,' Tang Mo thought to herself, 'it really isn't my place to help them.'
"Where... where did you get all this?"
Compared to his surprise last night, Tian Zhen was utterly shocked today.
From what Tang Mo was saying, it wasn't just this one time; she planned to keep bringing supplies.
"Professor Tian predicted this long ago. He saw the changes in the ecosystem and foresaw that a major disaster was coming. That's when I started hoarding supplies."
"If it weren't for the professor, I wouldn't have so many provisions now. So please, you must accept this as my way of thanking him."
Afraid Tian Zhen would refuse the items, Tang Mo had prepared this excuse in advance. Of course, she also said it to lessen the guilt Professor Tian and his family might feel.
"Then... I'll accept it. If you ever run into any trouble in the future, as long as I can help, I'll do whatever it takes!"
Tian Zhen hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Tang Mo truly didn't seem to be lacking for anything, he ultimately decided to accept.
It wasn't that he didn't understand how precious food was now, but with these supplies right in front of him, and thinking of his father's recent condition, he really couldn't bring himself to refuse.
He couldn't change his father's stubbornness, and he couldn't bear to watch him grow weaker day by day.
This was a life-saving favor. Tian Zhen made a resolution in his heart: no matter what trouble Tang Mo faced in the future, he would repay this debt, even if it cost him his life.
"Tang, don't go yet. My father will be here in a moment. Last night, he said he absolutely had to see you."
Seeing Tang Mo get up to leave, Tian Zhen quickly spoke up to keep her there.
"Okay."
She hadn't seen the professor in a long time. She truly missed the old man who had shown her such kindness.
While chatting with Tian Zhen about the students' recent psychological state, Tang Mo, who was waiting, soon saw Professor Tian arrive.
"Tang Mo, come do experiments with me!"
Professor Tian said after expressing his gratitude and making some small talk. He was a straightforward person who didn't bother with too much pleasantry.
"You're the most talented child I've ever seen. Your Talent must be put to use in the lab!"
The professor wasn't wrong. Tang Mo was indeed exceptionally gifted when it came to her studies.
She had enrolled with the top score in the entire college on her entrance exams, earned the highest GPA every semester, and even the most hardworking student, Song Qing, couldn't keep up with her.
Furthermore, the experiment Professor Tian was currently conducting was of extraordinary significance to all of humanity in this age of famine. He sincerely hoped that Tang Mo would join him in his work.